Get a new phone for Christmas? Cash in on your old phone before it loses value [INFOGRAPHIC]

Did you get a new smartphone for Christmas? You’re not alone. As many as 170 million new smartphones were gifted over the 2016 holiday season, creating a $23 billion market for the used phones they displaced.

However, just 12 percent of those used smartphones are likely to be resold – despite being worth an average of $140 per phone.

Most people simply stick their old phones in junk drawers where they can languish for years – all the while losing 37 to 65 percent of their value per year. Even worse, other phones are thrown away and end up in landfills, where they contribute to the growing e-waste crisis.

Instead of resigning your old phone to a dusty drawer or polluted landfill, you can sell it.

When you sell your used smartphone, you’ll not only recycle it to a new user, you’ll put cash in your pocket – and the average smartphone sells for $140.

Some phones are worth even more. Flipsy.com, the “blue book of smartphones,” compares online trade-in offers to show you who is currently paying the most for any given phone. A used iPhone 6 currently sells for $195, for example, while a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is worth $212.

Unlike carrier trade-in programs, which only pay in store or account credit, dedicated online trade-in companies pay in cash. They almost always pay more for used phones than carriers, and provide prepaid shipping labels or complete shipping kits to make the process convenient.

In our throwaway society, the 12 percent of people who sell their old phones collectively cash in on $2.9 billion – while the rest of us leave a whopping $20.9 on the table.

If you received a new smartphone for Christmas, don’t shove your old phone in a drawer or throw it away. Get your share of a $23 billion pie by selling it to the highest-paying buyer.